Connected Worlds is one of the community enterprises supported by Sheffield Flourish.
Regular groups
Connected Worlds runs creative and cross-cultural storytelling courses that bring together people from different backgrounds and communities to help improve their mental wellbeing and explore what matters to them. The courses are designed around specific themes and focused groups, ensuring relevance and deeper engagement with participants’ lived experiences.
The project offers 6-week courses at least twice a year in a safe and supportive space, aiming to build meaningful connections, solidarity, and a strong sense of community.
Connected Worlds has collaborated with a range of organisations including the University of Sheffield, Storying Sheffield libraries, museums, local NHS trust, NHS commissioning groups, and charities supporting homeless people to deliver several impactful courses and initiatives. These include Rotherham Flourish, Connected Worlds Sheffield, The Way We Flourish, Mind the Gap, Suicide Prevention Stories, Spirituality and Mental Health.
The work produced during the courses have been published online and in four anthologies: Vision and Voices from Rotherham, Take Me Elsewhere, Paradise in My Pocket, and Tunes of Enchantment which was launched at Sheaf Poetry Festival in 2023.
Out of these courses, successful groups have formed and are now run by past participants, including The Crafting Light (a creative group for survivors of child abuse), Pen & Purpose (a group supporting people in drug and alcohol recovery), and other smaller peer-led writing groups. This growth demonstrates the project’s sustainability and lasting impact within the community.
‘The sessions were a lifeline for me. I showed up with my whole identity. They improved my mental and spiritual health and supported my healing through creativity, storytelling, and learning from other cultures.’
Get in touch
Email: [email protected] , [email protected]
Instragram: connectedworlds2023
Phone: 0114 273 7009
Connected Worlds: building solidarity through storytelling
For an insight into some of the projects that Connected Worlds has been involved in, see Jonathan Monk-Cunliffe’s blog post here. Fern Deffley also wrote a story about her experiences of the Rotherham Flourish course, and Juliet McDonald wrote a story called Why I Love Rotherham Flourish.